Lee Fang

Lee Fang
File:Lfang.jpg
Education	BA, Government from University of Maryland
Occupation	Advocacy journalist

Lee Fang is a reporting fellow at the Nation Institute and a contributing writer at The Nation. Fang is a former senior investigator at the Republic Report and a former investigative blogger for ThinkProgress. While at ThinkProgress, Fang wrote several articles including one regarding the US Chamber of Commerce that attracted national attention.

Early life and career

Fang's hometown is in Prince George’s County, Maryland. He attended college at the University of Maryland, College Park, graduating with a B.A. in government and politics. Fang was an intern with ThinkProgress and also a researcher for Progressive Accountability. As an undergraduate, Fang also interned for Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH), for the activist watchdog outfit Media Matters and for the lobbying firm Westin Rinehart. Fang has been a critic of Islamophobia of American right-wing evangelicals.

Work with ThinkProgress

Chamber of Commerce article

On October 5, 2010, Fang wrote a story on ThinkProgress, where he alleged that the United States Chamber of Commerce funded political attack campaigns from its general fund, which solicits funds from foreign sources. Citing unnamed sources, Fang stated that the chamber is "likely skirting longstanding campaign finance law that bans the involvement of foreign corporations in American elections."

The story attracted national attention. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce denied Fang's charge, stating on its website that "no foreign money is used to fund political activities. All allegations to the contrary are totally and completely false." Fang discussed the story on National Public Radio, and on MSNBC with Keith Olbermann. Fang told MSNBC's Keith Olbermann that the Chamber is "going to foreign businesses and foreign individuals, saying, 'if you send us checks, you'll have a voice in American public policy debates.' They're sending those checks to the same bank account used for the attack ads."

The New York Times judicial columnist Eric Lichtblau questioned the veracity of Fang's ThinkProgress article's claims. Lichtblau mentioned Fang's article by name, "Exclusive: Foreign-Funded ‘U.S.’ Chamber of Commerce Running Partisan Attack Ads,” and wrote that Fang "provided no evidence that the money generated overseas had been used in United States campaigns. Still, liberal groups like MoveOn.org pounced on the allegations, resulting in protests at the chamber’s offices, a demand for a federal investigation by Senator Al Franken, Democrat of Minnesota, and ultimately the remarks by Mr. Obama himself."

A wire by the Associated Press, entitled "SPIN METER: Foreign money in politics? Not proven", also questioned Fang's allegations, repeated by "The Obama administration and its allies", concluding "Trouble is, they're providing no evidence." The Associated Press article cited Richard L. Hasen "expert on election law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles" who was quoted as saying "There is no evidence at all that the chamber has done anything illegally."

Contango article

In April 2011, Fang wrote an article titled ‘’The Contango Game: How Koch Industries Manipulates The Oil Market For Profit’’, in which he said “Koch Industries occupies a unique role in manipulating the oil market.” The story was soon after picked up by major media organizations like CBS and MSNBC, though his claims in the article were later debunked. John Hinderaker of Powerline Blog responded to the article, saying that Fang “has neither the business experience nor the intelligence to understand the issues about which he writes” and that “Koch is hardly in a position to “manipulate” anything.” The article has not since been corrected.

Tea Party racism video

In July 2010, Fang posted an article on ThinkProgress titled, ‘’Yes, there is racism in the Tea Party movement’’, along with a video that he edited to back his claim. The video shows clips of alleged racism from tea party members at rallies. The video drew attention as it was repeated by news organizations like the Huffington post and harshly criticized by journalists and bloggers who pointed out several flaws and inaccuracies. Lachlan Markay of NewsBusters summed up the flaws, claiming that “It took statements out of context, claimed racism where there really was none, claimed liberal plants were authentic members of the movement, and even used video from 2006, three years before the movement existed!” Fang has since updated the article to point out the mistake that a video was added from 2006.

Politico controversy

In April 2011, Politico wrote that "The Center for American Progress Action Fund openly runs political advocacy campaigns, and plays a central role in the Democratic Party’s infrastructure, and the new reporting staff down the hall isn’t exactly walled off from that message machine, nor does it necessarily keep its distance from liberal groups organizing advocacy campaigns targeting conservatives. Take ThinkProgress blogger Lee Fang’s efforts to portray the political activities of the billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch as motivated by a desire to boost their profits - an argument even some liberals reject as an overly simplistic caricature."

When Politico asked Fang why the Center for American Progress declined to reveal its donors while criticizing the Kochs for not disclosing their donations, Fang said “It’s fundamentally different when you have wealthy individuals that want to donate to a worthy cause, and the Koch brothers and some of their cohorts that are funding groups that are essentially just advancing their self interests and their lobbying interests.” Fang later criticized Politico for "not writing that his side of political debates is morally right."